


Let My Light Lead You Back

by Awseomness



Category: Monster High, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: Completely irregular update schedule, F/F, Further tags as things develop, I have a basic outline but very little in the way of actual planning, Old Monster High Canon, Old Star Wars Canon, Star Wars AU, jedi academy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-03 18:34:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12152421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awseomness/pseuds/Awseomness
Summary: It is a time of uneasy peace in the Galaxy. The NEW REPUBLIC is the seat of power and, despite many initial setbacks, LUKE SKYWALKER has successfully created his new JEDI ACADEMY on OSSUS.However, much of the knowledge of the old JEDI ORDER remains lost. Jedi recovery agents scour the galaxy, following any lead they can find, to track down whatever records might remain.The job is not without its risks. Despite the end of the SITH ORDER, the power of the DARK SIDE remains an everpresent threat to any jedi who is not mindful...





	1. Prologue

Fawn winced as another barrage of turbolasers grazed the nose of her X-Wing. Escaping oxygen flared out from where the lasers hit, ignited by the heat. A red warning light flashed in the cockpit, but she'd shut off the alarm-sound. She was well aware how bad things were.

Her astromech, R2-F4, made a warbled cry of distress.

"I know, Artoo, I know!" She tried to maneuvre away from the incoming shots but she braced herself just in case. Sure enough, the fighter rocked from impact, meaning she'd flown into the shot.

Again.

She swore. "Whoever this guy is, he's reading us like a map!"

The droid's reply quickly appeared on her translation screen. "I'm trying, Artoo. You focus on getting us to hyperspace!"

Another reply. "I'll get us out of the gravity well. Just give me an estimate." The nearby planet loomed in her peripheral vision. Too close. Close enough that a hyperspace jump would tear the X-wing apart.

Her cockpit's audio display screeched behind her, warning of another shot. She closed her eyes and reached out to the Force. This time she managed to roll the ship away from the shot, just barely avoiding getting clipped. It was hard to stay calm and listen while under fire like this.

R2-F4 gave an estimate, along with a pessimistic comment about their chances and a suggestion to surrender.

"Not an option, Artoo." Fawn didn't need to look at the satchel at her side to feel the Darkness radiating from it. "If this guy wants the artifact this badly, he's exactly the kind of person who shouldn't have it." The droid never really understood Jedi business.

Another shot slammed into the back of the X-wing, and for a moment the cockpit went dark. When the display came back, it showed the engine outlined in red. Dead. The planet grew closer in her window.

They were going down.

"No. No! NO!" Fawn slammed her fist against the panel.

The assault from behind stopped. Whoever it was didn't want to destroy the X-wing. Better to let it fall and salvage the artifact from the wreckage.

"This is gonna be a rough landing, Artoo." Fawn's knuckles whitened as she gripped her controls tight. "I'll do my best to set us down. I want you to start recording."

R2-F4 whistled a response and the holorecorder came on.

Fawn winced as the X-wing hit atmosphere. "This is Jedi Knight Fawn of the New Jedi Order..."


	2. The Call

A flash of blue on blue. Three strikes, a brief lock, and then they separate, jumping to either side of the arena.

Howleen tries to keep her breathing down, but her body is overheating. The other padawans, the ones on the side watching, they can't smell Gory sweat, but they can see Howleen panting. To most of them, humans and near-humans, Howleen looks like the more exerted of the two.

Gory kept cool without panting, so she had plenty of breath to taunt. "Maybe try a little more brute force. I think it'll work this time."

Howleen growled and lunged forward. Gory parried her thrust almost without effort and went for a riposte, which Howleen dodged. Howleen went for a heavy swing, but Gory caught it with her blade and slipped underneath Howleen's arm, moving behind her. She knocked Howleen in the back with her hilt. Howleen tried to catch herself, but Gory kicked her leg out from under her and Howleen fell onto her face.

The crowd of trainees cheered. As far as they were concerned the fight was over. Gory was the winner.

Gory extinguished her lightsaber and sauntered over to the crowd to bathe in their adulation. Howleen got to her feet and retrieved her lightsaber. It had shut off when she hit the ground, and she belted it and walked quickly to the exit. No reason to stick around for public humiliation.

She was almost out the door when she heard, "Maybe wolves aren't cut out to be Jedi."

***

Howleen trudged through the halls toward her room, shoulders up either to hide her face or to block out everything around her.

"You did pretty good." A voice said beside her.

She glanced over to see Twyla was already walking beside her. She let her shoulders down, but she didn't say anything.

"No, really. Your form's improving a lot."

"I lost."

Twyla shrugged. "That's because Gory's using Makashi and Master Grant is only teaching us Soresu and Shien." She handed Howleen a brown cloak she'd had folded over her arm.

Howleen didn't put the cloak on, she just raised an eyebrow.

"Form two is for lightsaber fights." Twyla continued. "Three and five are for field-work. We get stuff done, Gory looks good in front of an audience."

"Maybe I wanna look good for once."

"Well, you're gonna get a shot." Twyla tapped her shoulder and sped up, walking right past their room. "Master Grant's got a new mission. Duty calls."

***

Gigi Grant stood just outside the conference room. She'd sent Twyla to get her other padawan, Howleen, before the briefing would begin.

She heard fast-moving footsteps behind her and turned to see a black-cloaked Umbaran girl and a brown-cloaked Shistavanen girl speed-walking toward her.

"There you are." The relief was evident in her voice. She looked them both up and down. "Howleen, you look upset. What happened?"

"Nothing." Howleen pulled up her hood. "I was training. It's nothing."

Gigi frowned. "We'll talk about it later, I promise. For now, I need your game face."

Howleen centered herself and returned to a neutral expression.

Gigi nodded and led them into the conference room.

The room was dark, lit only by blue and green holo-displays. In the center of the room, next to a main holo-terminal, were two Givin jedi dressed in black robes. One's chitinous face seemed frozen in a malicious grin, while the other's was drawn low in a look of despair.

They were frightening for most humanoid species to look at, and many initiates took some time to warm up to them, but they were neither of them malicious and their natural prediliction for arithmetic made them well-suited for logistical work.

The grinning one, Master Reaper, looked up as they entered. "Ah, Grant. You are ten seconds late by my predictions."

"My padawan was training." Gigi said. Both Howleen and Twyla dutifully stood behind her.

The sorrowful one, Master D'eath, raised a hand. "It is no matter. You are five seconds early by my own prediction."

A look passed between the two skeletal jedi before they turned their attention back to Gigi.

"You are aware that Knight Fawn has not returned." Master Reaper said.

Gigi nodded. "I haven't seen her since she went to Nar Shaddaa. She was chasing alead on a Sith artifact on the black market."

"She was expected back between three and seven weeks ago." D'eath added. "We have had no contact."

"You think something's happened to her?"

Reaper nodded. "First, we suspected. Then, we consulted the Force. Now, we are sure."

Gigi put a finger to her chin. "Fawn and I were clanmates. She's a perfectly competent jedi knight."

"Which means, if someone has harmed her, they are a perfectly competent adversary." D'eath said, solemnly.

Reaper touched a button on the main holo-terminal's console and an image appeared of a star system. "Fawn's last transmission was sent from the Keldrath sector." He touched another button and a new image, a different star system coalesced. "Her next planned jump was to the Tion Hegemony. Specifically, the planet Folende."

"You and your padawans are to travel to Folende." D'eath said. "Mission parameters are: discover the whereabouts of Jedi Knight Fawn, determine the cause of her distress, and recover the artifact she was transporting."

"If you do not find anything on Folende, call in for new instructions."

"Understood." Gigi nodded. She looked over at her apprentices. "...If someone attacked Fawn, will it be safe for my padawans on this mission?"

Reaper's grin widened, just a bit. "It is through adversity that we grow. This should be an excellent lesson for them.

D'eath's frown sunk lower. "Even so, be cautious. They are still young. Without your guidance, there will be danger."

***

Gigi's ship, the _Bottled Fortune_ was old. Practically ancient. It was a Balroz-class Medium Frieghter, a ship series that predated even the YT-series and had been in use before the Galactic Empire came to power.

Still, it felt almost as much like home as the Jedi Temple did, if only because Howleen and Twyla spent so much time on it.

Howleen expected, when she had a ship of her own, she would prefer a hyperspace-worthy starfighter, like an X-wing or an M-class fighter. Something fast and agile.

But the _Bottled Fortune_ had its charms. Part of the cargo bay had been repurposed as a training area, and the common room had a few entertainment features installed. Right now, however, the three of them were in the cockpit. Gigi sat in the pilot's seat, while Howleen and Twyla stood next to the co-pilot seat, inputing the navigation codes.

With one last input, Gigi made the jump to hyperspace, and the stars stretched out around them. She turned to Howleen.

"So, what happened in training?"

Howleen felt Twyla wrap a hand around hers. "I was sparring with Gory." Howleen said.

"I see." Gigi's tone conveyed a deeper understanding than her words did.

Gigi looked at her expectantly, and Howleen continued though her face grew hot as she did. "She knocked me on my face, and she made me look bad in front of everyone."

Gigi frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. Did you get hurt?"

Howleen shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm humiliated, but I'm fine."

Gigi's eyes showed concern. "Howleen, you shouldn't worry about what other people think."

Twyla squeezed her hand. "Yeah. The people who really matter already love you."

Howleen fought not to roll her eyes. She appreciated the sentiment, really she did, but neither of them really understood. They were both near-human. Humans might think Twyla's spooky, but they never treat her like an animal.

"I know." She said. "I know. And I love you guys too. But... maybe I could take some dueling lessons?"

Gigi sat back and thought about it. She wasn't a duelist by any stretch, having mostly focused on learning Soresu and Niman. Even Shien she wasn't teaching them herself. "I'll tell you what. When we get back to the praxeum, I'll ask Master Katarn if he or anyone he knows will have time to teach you Djem So."

Howleen brightened. "Thanks, Master!"

Gigi smiled. "You never know when it'll come in handy." She glanced at the navicomputer. "Well, settle in girls. It's going to be a long ride."

Twyla moved over to the communications console. "Can we listen to music?"

"I don't see why not."

Twyla flipped a switch and, as soon as the opening fanfare started, the girls grinned wide and belted along with the singer. "CHA TUNG EE-MA CHAY-CHOO RAUN TA-NEE-EE-CHOO!"

Gigi slumped down in her seat and sighed.

"KO-NEE NAN-KEE CHONG NOY KHAN CHAY-CHEE-KUM! OOO!"

It _was_ going to be a long ride.


	3. The Threshold - Part 1

"I love you." The Twi'lek said, leaning against her partner's chest. "I think, maybe, I always have."

The Togruta put a finger to the Twi'lek's chin, lifting her face ever-so-slightly. "I love you too. After all this time, damn it, I love you."

They kissed. They kissed long, and slow, and passionately as the world around them erupted into flames. As the war raged on all sides, blaster fire and explosions all around. And none of it mattered. All that mattered was here. Was them. Was their love.

Finally, the story ended, and the hologram blinked out of existence.

Twyla was on the edge of her seat, leaning forward, and she slumped backwards. She wiped a couple of errant tears from her eyes and pulled out her datapad to check the time. They should be coming out of hyperspace soon.

She stood up to stretch and felt her back pop in several places. Man, that felt good.

She stood alone in the dark of the common room of the _Bottled Fortune._ Well, not dark to her. She picked up several wavelengths most sentients in the Galaxy didn't. To her the room wasn just blue.

She popped her neck too, then headed toward the cockpit. Master Grant was in the pilot's seat, prepping the ship for the jump back to realspace.

"Hi, Twyla." She said, glancing back. "How was the holodrama?"

"Melodramatic." Twyla shrugged. "You would've hated it."

"That's what I figured." Gigi pulled the little lever and the blue of hyperspace turned into starlines, then back into stars. A blue-green planet lay in the distance, just a little bit away. "Could you go wake Howleen? We'll be landing in a minute."

Twyla nodded, then headed back toward the crew quarters. Originally, ships of this make were designed with two main-crew rooms and four half-sized passenger rooms, but the _Fortune_ had been modified so it had four full-sized rooms. Howleen's and Twyla's were right next to each other, with Gigi's and a guest room on the other side.

She didn't knock. She never did. After all, they shared a room on Ossus.

She stepped inside and flicked on the lights. Howleen was on top of her covers, still dressed in everything but her cloak. She snored quietly, snout wide open with a little pool of drool just underneath, arms and legs splayed haphazardly in all directions.

Twyla smiled.

She sat down in the only open space on the edge of the bed big enough and placed a hand on Howleen's shoulder. She almost hated to wake her but orders were orders. "Wakey-wakey."

Howleen stirred and blearily looked up at her. She yawned, stretched, and sat up. "We there?"

Twyla nodded.

"You get any sleep?"

"I'll be fine."

"You're gonna get space-lag."

"I wanted to finish my drama."

"Oh yeah?" Howleen stood and picked up her cloak. "How was it?"

"Mushy." Twyla shrugged. "You would've hated it."

"That's what I figured."

Gigi's voice came over the intercom. "Hurry to the cockpit, guys. I'll want your help with landing."

The girls nodded to no one and jogged to the cockpit, easily sliding into their places. They felt the familiar rocking when the ship hit atmosphere.

Twyla looked over the sensor screens. "There's a clearing a couple of kilometers to the north. Should be a settlement near there where we can start. Too small for a spaceport, though."

"I see it. That should work."

Gigi transferred control to the co-pilot chair for Howleen, who brought the ship down gently in the clearing.

***

Folende was an agricultural planet. Its surface was 70% water, the atmosphere was oxygenated by the abundant plant-life, mostly grasses but there were enough trees to have some variety, and the gravity was just a hint stronger than Twyla liked.

"You doin' alright, Master?" Howleen asked. Gigi looked pensive, nervous.

"I'm trying to find Fawn." She said. "A clanmates bond isn't as strong as a co-padawn or a master-apprentice bond, but I should still be able to sense her if she's here."

"If you can't find her, does that mean she's not here?" Twyla asked.

"It might." Gigi swallowed. "Or it could mean something bad."

A look passed between Twyla and Howleen. They didn't need it spelled out.

"There's something else." Gigi continued. "There's a dark presence here. It's making it hard for me to say anything for sure." She turned to the girls. "Speculation?"

"Aside from the obvious?" Howleen asked.

"Please."

"Well..." Twyla touched her chin. "If the dark presence is whatever attacked Fawn, it could be that she's hiding from it. Masking her presence in the Force so it doesn't find her or the artifact."

"A distinct possibility." Gigi nodded. "Howleen?"

"Maybe the dark presence is the artifact. She hid it here and left, planning to come back with help. But her ship was damaged and it's working with a back-up hyperdrive and no communications. She's on her way to a repair depot in a Jedi trance."

"Another possibility. That one assumes her attacker isn't force sensitive, otherwise they would sense the dark presence as easily as us."

"Can you pinpoint it?"

Gigi hmmed. Her eyes narrowed and she looked off into the distance for a moment. "I cannot. Scratch that, then. Good speculation, girls. Any other ideas?"

They looked at each other and shrugged. "Just the obvious." Twyla said.

"Well, here's another." Gigi said. "Maybe the artifact corrupted Fawn, and she's the dark presence we sense."

Howleen took her hand. "Do you think that would happen?"

Gigi smiled. "The point of speculating isn't only to consider what's likely, but to be aware of all possibilities. Fawn's a good seeker. I don't think a Sith artifact of any kind would be enough to corrupt her."

"Should we be worried about..." Twyla really didn't want to say it out loud.

"We should be prepared for it. What does the Code say?"

"Prepare first for success, then for failure." The girls recited in unison.

"Both our own and that of others." Gigi nodded. "We'll prepare first for Fawn's survival, and then for her death. We'll be ready for whatever happens."

Speaking with the Folende locals was not as fruitful as they would've liked. Apparently a ship had crashed onto the planet a couple of weeks ago, and they were able to get a general location, but little else was forthcoming.

According to the farmers, a few people had gone to investigate, a few people had gone to salvage anything valuable, and none of them had returned.

Twyla felt dread. Her own, her master's, and Howleen's. That wasn't good news.

The crash site was in a wooded area, and old enough that it wasn't clearly visible from the air. Only by knowing what they were looking for was Howleen able to identify it, and Twyla found the nearest clearing that would fit their ship. From there it would be an hour's march to the downed X-wing to investigate.

"Stay alert, girls." Gigi warned. "The darkness is stronger here."

They didn't need to be told, but it was nice to have confirmation they weren't imagining it.

The trees grew tall around them, high branches casting dark shadows even in the midday light. Bird calls and distinctly insectoid chittering mingled with the sounds of three jedi stepping carefully through the brush. Would that a path existed, but one did not, and progress was slow.

Nearer to where the ship had fallen the brush grew sparser, downed branches were bigger and more common. To the left, they saw a wing, carbon-scored and surrounded by scorched greenery.

Finally, they came to the ruined X-wing, surrounded by trees torn from their roots and left on their sides, many of them having burned out in the intervening time.

The ship was missing all four wings, three still unaccounted for, and the transparisteel canopy was smashed through. Apparently, Fawn had not used the ejection seat, but there was no one, dead or alive, in the cockpit.

"Well, we made it this far." Gigi made a prodigious leap and landed gracefully on the dented cone of the fighter to get a closer look.

Howleen moved to examine the astromech port, and Twyla closed her eyes, opening herself up.

The darkness was palpable, like a fog obscuring all of her senses. She could make out Master Grant, she could make out Howleen, and she could make out the living plants and animals closest to her, but anything farther than the first couple of meters was beyond her reach. She didn't like it.

"Guys?" Howleen called and Twyla opened her eyes. "The droid's still lodged in here. But it's missing its dome."

Gigi looked concerned. She hadn't been close to Fawn's astromech, but they new each other. Droid sentience was a contoversial subject among jedi, but the potential loss of life was a tragedy in itself.

"We should probably try to find it, if we can." Gigi said, "There's a chance we could repair it, and even if we can't, whatever we can recover from its memory banks would be useful."

Howleen's ears perked up. "I can find it. Leave it to me!" She leapt fom the ship, flipping into the air and landing casually on the ground. She started to run in the direction the fighter had come from.

"Howleen, wait!" Gigi called. "There's still something dangerous out here we know nothing about."

Howleen stopped and turned. "We'll find what we're looking for faster if we split up. Besides," She glanced at Twyla, "You've been training us for field work, right?"

"That's true, but that doesn't mean it's safe for you to go off alone when someone who was dangerous to a full jedi knight could still be out there."

"I'll be careful." Howleen assured her. "And I'll keep my com open."

Gigi considered for a moment, Twyla could sense her trepidation.

"...Okay." She said. "But if you find anything or anyone, I want you to let us know immediately and get back here as quickly as you can."

Howleen grinned, saluted, then ran off.

Gigi sighed. "That girl is reckless."

"I don't want to talk bad about her to her master. Especially behind her back." Twyla said. "She worries about how people see her. I can sympathize."

"Because of you father?"

Twyla didn't answer. "If she does well on this mission, people will have to respect her. That's how she sees it."

Gigi ran her hand along an area of damage that seemed incongruous with the rest. To Twyla's eyes, it looked like lightsaber marks. Probably Fawn's, possibly her attacker's.

"She's going to need to overcome that." Gigi mused, leaning over the cockpit to see if there was anything left behind. "A jedi shouldn't be overly concerned with how she's percieved. Nor should she let that concern endanger herself or her mission."

Gigi closed her eyes and took a breath. The Force emanated from her, illuminating through the dark pallor surrounding Twyla's mind's eye. Like a beacon of light in the Force.

"So Howleen can find her way back?" Twyla asked.

"Or, if they know the Force, so that whoever's been attacking locals finds me instead of her."

"And if they don't go for the bigger threat?"

"Then I've made _you_ safer." Gigi hopped down. "It's not perfect, but it's something."

Twyla nodded. "Did you find anything?"

"Nothing. Not even her rations. Which, I suppose, is a good sign."

"An X-wing usually has enough food and water for a week." Twyla agreed. "If she's been foraging, or if she's been supplementing it with the Force, that would be enough to survive for this long."

"Exactly." Gigi looked down the direction Howleen had run. "But that doesn't account for the dark presence, the missing locals, or her absence from the nearby settlements."

"It's too early to say until we find her, find the artifact, or find someone dangerous."

There was a sound behind them.

They whirled quickly to see a figure, obscured by branches and brush, but almost dripping in a dark, malevolent aura. How had it snuck up on them?

Gigi reacted immediately, igniting her green lightsaber and shifting into a low guard. Not half a moment later did Twyla have her own, yellow lightsaber in a high guard stance.

"Well, my young apprentice, we'll be able to say soon."


End file.
